There are a number of companies that have popped up in the last two decades that are aimed at making motor vehicle travel easier and more efficient. They directly and indirectly help us decrease the amount of pollution created by excessive driving.

From car companies to apps, there seems to be a big market for these transportation solutions.  Companies pumping the brakes on pollution include Tesla, Parking Panda, and Waze.

Tesla is at the forefront of environmentally conscious automotive design.  They have developed a number of entirely electric powered vehicles and produced them in a sleek and stylish design that was previously foreign to electric cars.  Their solution to the fossil fuel crisis is groundbreaking and with an innovative leader like Elon Musk, they are bound to continue to push the envelope in the clean-car revolution.

A company in Baltimore has changed the way people traverse cities in search of finding that perfect parking spot.  This company can be compared to the OpenTable of parking.  It works like this:  you just got tickets to the big concert downtown but you don’t know where to park, how much it is going to cost, and if the garages will be full that night.  Simply go to or use their mobile app and get real-time parking locations and prices, reserve your parking on the app, and open the lot gate using your phone.  The app includes GPS directions to the location and price comparisons of all the spots available.  Not only can it save you money when you travel, but it eliminates the wasted gas used circling the block looking for a spot.

Ever had a secret short cut that shaved minutes off your drive to work?  It’s probably not a secret anymore.  Waze is a Google created app that not only shows you how to get from point A to point B, but also calculates the fastest route based on real-time traffic information, road closures, speed traps, and many other bumps you may encounter along the way.  Not only will you get to where you’re going faster, it will save you gas that would otherwise be burned sitting in traffic.

With the automotive industry slowly creeping towards an environmentally conscious norm we can only hope that other companies will continue to revolutionize the way they operate and how they impact the world in which we live.